Upscaling via a Prospective LCA: A Case Study on Tomato Homogenate Using a Near-to-Market Pasteurisation Technology

Thanks to food technology, the production of cold tomato soups such as salmorejo, a traditional Spanish dish, has become industrialised. Thermal treatments play an important role in ready-to-eat meals, prolonging their shelf-life. Radiofrequency (RF) heating is less energy-intensive than conventional heat exchangers and has been successfully used to pasteurise food; novel applications, however, provide results at laboratory or pilot scale, so conclusions might not be translatable to industry. In this study, a prospective Life-Cycle Assessment of salmorejo pasteurised using RF was performed to highlight the relevance of upscaling and to compare its environmental impacts with those of conventional pasteurisation. Gate-to-gate results show that the pilot has greater environmental impacts due to its greater energy consumption, as thermal energy is not recovered. The packing and landfill of organic waste exhibit the highest impacts at industrial scale. RF technology does not imply significant environmental improvements versus conventional pasteurisation. Potential changes in the energy background of future scenarios have relevant consequences in the environmental impacts. Farm-to-factory-gate analysis highlights ingredients and tomato valorisation as the most impacting stages. The prospective LCA of scaled up scenarios constitutes a tool for environmental screening in food ecodesign, contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 12.

Automated summary

Food technology has industrialized the production of traditional dishes like salmorejo, while thermal treatments play a crucial role in extending the shelf-life of ready-to-eat meals. Radiofrequency heating has shown to be less energy-intensive than conventional methods for pasteurizing food, but conclusions from novel applications may not always be applicable to industry.